


The W Word and the P One Too

by mcgarrygirl78



Series: Crazy Love [8]
Category: Criminal Minds
Genre: Alternate Universe, Drama, F/M, Friendship, Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2011-10-20
Updated: 2011-10-20
Packaged: 2017-10-24 19:26:03
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,535
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/267003
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mcgarrygirl78/pseuds/mcgarrygirl78
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>“Do you know what strychnine does to a person, Aaron?”</p>
            </blockquote>





	The W Word and the P One Too

**Author's Note:**

> This story is written in the Thicker than Water universe, where the BAU are kids and teens.

“Hello Aaron.”

Hotch froze for a moment when he heard the voice. He’d been sitting on a bench next door to the used and rare bookstore, happily leafing through his X-Men comic book. He didn’t even want to look up but he wasn’t raised to be impolite. So he took a deep breath and looked at her.

“Hi.”

“How are you?” Haley Brooks sat down beside him and smiled.

It seemed like a million years ago that that smile made Hotch weak in the knees. Now it just made him slightly uncomfortable.

“Um…” apparently he was also at a loss for words.

“You don’t know how you are?” she laughed.

That laugh used to make Hotch’s heart skip a beat. He had been so infatuated with her, almost from the first moment he saw her. That should've told him to run away from her instead of toward her but Hotch was just a dumb boy. What did he know? He knew more now than he knew then.

“Oh,” Hotch laughed a bit. “I'm fine, thanks.”

“What are you doing out here?”

“I'm just hanging out. Megan ordered some books so we…” Hotch stopped. There was this part of him that felt what he was doing was none of Haley’s business. She was just being nice probably, making conversation, but something about it didn’t feel right. How was it probable that he was more nervous around Haley since they broke up?

“Why did you stop, Aaron?” she asked.

“I'm not sure we should be talking.” He replied.

“Are you serious?” her tone was incredulous.

“My girlfriend is in the bookstore. She’ll be out any minute.”

“So you can't talk to me because of her? We can't even exchange pleasantries?”

“Its probably best if we just don’t.” Hotch said. It made him feel bad for a moment but he didn’t know how else to say it.

“That’s really hurtful, Aaron.” Haley stood from the bench with her hand over her heart. “What have I ever done to you to have you be so hurtful?”

Was she serious? Firstly, she dumped up. He picked up with Lindsay right away so there was hardly time to mourn. In the end, Hotch truly felt that was her prerogative. If she didn’t like him as much as he liked her then that was fine.

But she proceeded to string him along for months afterward, making it even more heartbreaking. She would call, talk, say she might take him back, and then renege. To put the icing on the cake, Haley accepted an expensive Christmas gift from him. She once again hinted she would take him back soon. She never did.

Maybe he shouldn’t have bought it but Hotch wasn’t thinking straight. He just didn’t want to be alone and he didn’t want to be vulnerable. He wanted the gift back but didn’t have the balls to ask. Haley sure as hell wasn’t offering. And ever since it got around school that he and Megan were together, she’d been giving him the silent treatment.

The silence was anything but golden. It was tense and uncomfortable. Sometimes it also consisted of nasty looks and whispered giggles with her friends. This was actually the first real conversation they were having since January. It was mid-June.

“You’ve done plenty to hurt my feelings, Haley, but I don’t want to get into that.” Hotch said.

“Well I was just trying to be friendly.” Haley’s face turned unpleasant. “I guess there's just no point. What I've heard must be true.”

“What are you talking about?” Hotch tried and failed to hide his exasperation. He hated rumor and innuendo. He wished he could blow them both to kingdom come.

“Everyone at school knows how Megan Kane keeps boys happy. You're not the only one you know so I hope you don’t think you mean anything to her. I thought you were different but you're just like everyone else. You’re so…ordinary, Aaron.”

“You know what…?”

“Is there a problem here?” Megan came out of the bookstore. She rolled her eyes when she saw Haley and went over to save Hotch.

“I'm having a conversation with Aaron.” Haley replied, barely acknowledging her presence.

Megan knew Haley and her shrew brigade were some of the people spreading rumors about her. She was still working on what to do about it. It was hard to stop a train once it got rolling but Megan didn’t care that much what people thought of her. This was especially true of the plebes at Georgetown Day. She could really care less.

She just never wanted Hotch, or a few other people she’d come to like and respect, to think those things about her were true. Megan wasn’t an angel and never claimed to be. But what was being said about her sometimes bordered on slanderous. It was hurtful too but she kept her pain to herself as always.

“I have to go now.” Hotch stood from the bench. He stuffed his comic book back in the bag from Dragon’s Lair and took Megan’s hand. “See ya.”

He didn’t wait for a response before walking away. Megan looked back, saw Haley looking, and stuck out her tongue. It wasn’t very mature but it did give her an inner giggle.

“You're nothing but a whore, and everyone knows it.” Haley didn’t shout but said it loud enough for Hotch, Megan, and a few passersby to hear her.

Megan stopped in her tracks. Hotch felt her blood go cold. He pulled her closer, whispered that Haley wasn’t worth it. Megan gently shook him off, turning and walking back to where the other blonde stood.

“You should watch your mouth before someone punches you in it.”

“I’m not afraid of you.” Haley’s defiance came out a bit squeaky but she stood up anyway.

“That’s your first mistake. Just stay away from Aaron and stay away from me. Your company is not desired.”

Haley turned and walked away in a huff. Hotch took Megan’s hand again, pulling her down the street.

“That was really horrible of her to say.” He said. He didn’t know what else to say. A million words were running through his mind but he couldn’t form the appropriate sentences. “I'm so sorry.”

“Whatever.” Megan shook her head and rolled her eyes.

“Not whatever, Megan; I'm serious. I hate that people say those things about you. I want to punch them all in their faces. Don’t they know that it’s hurtful? You’ve never done a thing to any of them and they say that about you.”

“Well I'm not a Madonna either, Hotch.”

“I don’t care. You're not a whore and anyone who calls you that deserves my disdain. They’ve got it…by the ton.”

“Do you know what strychnine does to a person, Aaron?” she asked.

“No.” he shook his head.

Megan stopped walking, sitting down on a bench. He sat down beside her.

“It starts with vomiting, mostly due to the bitter taste. It’s one of the bitterest tasting poisons known to man. After that, the convulsions start. Horrible, twisting convulsions that make the eyes bulge and the body contort in ways that even Cirque de Soleil can't compete with. The central nervous system is in shock, you see.

“The victim continues to spasm and convulse; intervals of calm being shorter and shorter until they die of asphyxiation or just pure exhaustion. Their mind is aware of everything that’s happening to them as they expire. There’s nothing they can do to stop their body from giving out on them. There is no escape from the excruciating pain.”

“Whoa. Um…”

“That’s what I think about when I think about people like Haley. I would never do that to another human being but I think about it when people hurt me. And it makes me feel better.”

“How hard is it to get your hands on something like that?” Hotch asked.

“Not that difficult.” Megan replied shrugging. “It’s still used all over the world to get rid of small animals and such. You can't go to the corner store to purchase it but surely if you wanted some…”

“I don’t care what people say about you. They don’t know you.”

“You don’t know me well either.”

“But I'm getting to.” Hotch replied. “We all have pasts; some of them are not as pretty as others. I promise you that I'm never, ever going to judge you. I’ll always be good to you because that’s what you deserve.”

“And what does Haley deserve?” Megan asked before she could stop herself. “Don’t answer that.”

“OK.” He nodded.

It wasn’t fair to try to turn Hotch into something he wasn’t. He might be mad at Haley for insulting her, and deservedly so, but she wasn’t going to make him want the bitch to die. Megan could do that enough for the both of them. She leaned to kiss his shoulder, kissing his dimples too when they poked into his cheeks.

“I'm hungry.” She said. “What do you want for lunch?”

“Are you sure you're OK?” he asked as she popped up from the bench. She suddenly seemed full of energy; as if imagining Haley’s horrible demise was enough to give her back her strength. Hotch wasn’t sure how he felt about that.

“I'm fine. I'm from Texas, Aaron, and everything is bigger than Texas; even the assholes.”

***

“Jason?”

“Hmm?” he didn’t look up from the chessboard at the kitchen table but he knew who he was talking to.

“Can I talk to you?” Hotch asked.

“Sure, have a seat.”

Hotch sat across from him but for a while neither boy said a word. Jason studied the board as he waited for Hotch to speak. Hotch did the same as he tried to figure out exactly what to say.

“I see checkmate in five.” Hotch said.

“I see it in three; on the black side.” Jason replied.

“What?”

“Think outside the box, Aaron.”

Hotch sighed. He never once beat Jason in chess; luckily he wasn’t trying to do so tonight. Hotch put his chin in the palm of his hand and sighed again.

“What do you do when people say strange things and might be into strange things but you don’t think they’re dangerous or anything?” Hotch asked.

“I'm not entirely sure.” Jason finally looked away from the board. “Do you have an example of what you mean?”

“Megan told me today what strychnine can do to a person.”

“That’s a very dangerous poison.”

“She's into poisons.” Hotch replied.

“Why?”

“Isn't everyone into something? I mean I like comics and Morgan reads all those Alex Cross books. Prentiss has her foreign languages and JJ like music and weapons, in theory. Spencer loves science; Penelope knows everything there is to know about computers. I'm sure Ashley is into something too and she’s just seven years old.”

“None of that is potentially lethal.” Jason said.

“Hence my dilemma.”

“Do you think Megan is dangerous, Aaron?”

Hotch knew it was a serious question since Jason didn’t often use his first name.

“No.” he shook his head. “I don’t think she would ever hurt anyone. She just has a lot of anger inside of her and she doesn’t know what to do with it all the time. Usually she turns it on herself.”

“How?”

“She cuts herself.” he said, feeling as if he was betraying her by even uttering it aloud. “Please, don’t ever tell anyone I told you that.”

“I swear I won't. She’s got a lot going on in her heart and mind.”

“Her parents just messed everything up. Her father doesn’t want her to exist and ruin his new life. Her mother takes care of her because she has to. I don’t think anyone truly cares about her; her wellbeing.”

“You can't fix everything for her.” Jason replied.

“I know, I just…I don’t want her to hurt herself or anybody else because she can't get the pain out.”

“And you think she might use poison to do it?”

“She’s kinda obsessed with it.”

“Do you feel unsafe around her? Do you think the other kids would be unsafe?”

“No, and that’s the truth. She’s been hurt a lot and I don’t know if she can be hurt much more. Life can be so brutal; I don’t know how much more she can take. There are rumors about her at school. We ran into Haley today and she called Megan a whore.”

“What? That’s awful.”

“I know she’s not an angel. Sex was another way to hurt herself, if that even makes sense. But underneath the armor Megan is…”

“What?” Jason asked. “Megan is what?”

“I don't know.” Hotch shrugged. “I care about her.”

“Then keep doing that. You might not be able to save her from destruction but then again you might be able to. Just keep caring about her, Hotch. If you want to do that don’t let anything stop you. And if you think she might hurt someone or herself, talk to me. I'm here for the both of you.”

“OK.” He nodded. “Thanks Jason.”

“That’s what best friends are for.” He reached over and squeezed Hotch’s shoulder. “Are you sure Megan is OK?”

“She’s fine. I’ll look after her and make sure.”

“Good enough.” Jason smiled. “Do you see checkmate in three on the black side yet?”

“No.”

“We’ll play this weekend. Hey, maybe you can see if Megan would like to play. Chess is definitely a way to help focus the mind.”

“I’ll see if she's interested.” Hotch stood up. “Thanks for listening.”

“I'm always here for whatever you need.”

Hotch nodded, smiled a little, and walked out of the kitchen. He really hoped Jason didn’t think Megan was insane. Hotch didn’t think that about her but that didn’t mean he wasn’t worried. She seemed so focused when she talked about the effects of strychnine. Deep down he knew she would never hurt someone like that.

But there were a million poisons in the world and many of them were quieter ways to go. Hotch wasn’t worried so much about people like Haley and Melinda Kane; he was worried about Megan. If she ever hurt herself that way he didn’t think he would ever recover. Maybe he would just tell her that. She needed to know that she was cared for and would be missed if anything ever happened to her.

Nodding, Hotch went up to his bedroom. He lay on the bed and picked up his phone. The only reason Morgan wasn’t on the other end was because he wasn’t home. Hotch dialed the number he knew by heart and listened to the phone ring four times. He didn’t know what he’d say if he had to leave a voicemail.

“Hello.” Her voice sounded soft and calm.

“I was just thinking about you and I wanted to tell you.” he said.

“I hate when you do that.”

“What? What did I do?”

“You’re the world’s sweetest guy, Aaron Hotchner. Don’t ever change OK?”

“I won't if you promise not to.”

“You don’t want me to change?” Megan asked, her tone disbelieving.

“Not a single iota.” Hotch replied. “I mean it, and you better believe it.”

***


End file.
